U.S. patent application number 12/345697 was filed with the patent office on 2009-07-09 for environmentally friendly ternary transportation flex-fuel of gasoline, methanol and bioethanol.
Invention is credited to George A. Olah, G.K. Surya Prakash.
Application Number | 20090172997 12/345697 |
Document ID | / |
Family ID | 40843469 |
Filed Date | 2009-07-09 |
United States Patent
Application |
20090172997 |
Kind Code |
A1 |
Olah; George A. ; et
al. |
July 9, 2009 |
ENVIRONMENTALLY FRIENDLY TERNARY TRANSPORTATION FLEX-FUEL OF
GASOLINE, METHANOL AND BIOETHANOL
Abstract
An efficient and economic ternary flex-fuel mixture that
includes at least 10% gasoline, at least 10% bioethanol and at
least 45% methanol, with the amount of gasoline, bioethanol and
methanol totaling 100%, wherein the flex-fuel mixture has an octane
rating of at least 90 and remains homogeneous in the presence of up
to 10% water therein. Preferred flex-fuel mixtures include 10-15 to
30% gasoline, 50 to 75-80% methanol, and 10 to 25% of bioethanol
and having an octane rating of 90 to 98. Also, methods of making
these flex-fuel mixtures and to improvements in methods for
preparing a flex-fuel mixture of gasoline and bioethanol by adding
methanol in an amount sufficient to enable the mixture to remain
homogeneous in the presence of up to 10% water to thus allow
handling, transportation, dispensing and use of the mixture in the
same manner as conventional gasoline fuels.
Inventors: |
Olah; George A.; (Beverly
Hills, CA) ; Prakash; G.K. Surya; (Hacienda Heights,
CA) |
Correspondence
Address: |
WINSTON & STRAWN LLP;PATENT DEPARTMENT
1700 K STREET, N.W.
WASHINGTON
DC
20006
US
|
Family ID: |
40843469 |
Appl. No.: |
12/345697 |
Filed: |
December 30, 2008 |
Related U.S. Patent Documents
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Application
Number |
Filing Date |
Patent Number |
|
|
61018933 |
Jan 4, 2008 |
|
|
|
Current U.S.
Class: |
44/452 |
Current CPC
Class: |
C10L 1/023 20130101;
C10L 1/125 20130101 |
Class at
Publication: |
44/452 |
International
Class: |
C10L 1/18 20060101
C10L001/18 |
Claims
1. An efficient and environmentally friendly ternary transportation
flex-fuel mixture comprising at least 10% gasoline, at least 10%
bioethanol and at least 45% methanol, with the amount of gasoline,
bioethanol and methanol totaling 100%, wherein the flex-fuel
mixture has an octane rating of at least 90 and remains homogeneous
in the presence of up to 10% water therein.
2. The flex-fuel mixture of claim 1 wherein the gasoline is present
in an amount of less than 33% of the mixture and the methanol is
present in an amount of at least 50% of the mixture.
3. The flex-fuel mixture of claim 1 wherein the bioethanol is
present in an amount of less than 33% of the mixture and the
methanol is present in an amount of at least 50% of the
mixture.
4. The flex-fuel mixture of claim 1 wherein the methanol is present
in an amount of less than 75% of the mixture.
5. The flex-fuel mixture of claim 1 comprising 10 to 30% gasoline,
50 to 80% methanol, and 10 to 25% of bioethanol and having an
octane rating of 90 to 98.
6. The flex-fuel mixture of claim 1 comprising 15 to 30% gasoline,
50 to 75% methanol, and 10 to 25% of bioethanol and having an
octane rating of 90 to 98.
7. A method of making the flex-fuel mixture of claim 1 which
comprises mixing the gasoline, bioethanol and methanol together in
the amounts recited and under mixing conditions sufficient to form
a homogenous mixture.
8. The method of claim 7 wherein the mixing is conducted by first
mixing the gasoline with the methanol to form a binary mixture and
subsequently adding the bioethanol.
9. The method of claim 7 wherein the mixing is conducted by first
mixing the methanol with bioethanol to form a binary mixture and
subsequently adding the gasoline.
10. The method of claim 7, wherein the methanol is made from carbon
dioxide that is generated by an industrial plant to avoid emitting
carbon dioxide into the atmosphere where it can contribute to
further global warming.
11. The method of claim 7, wherein the methanol is made from carbon
dioxide that is removed from the atmosphere to reduce the
contribution of the carbon dioxide to global warming.
12. A method of storing, handling, transporting or dispensing a
bioethanol containing fuel using existing infrastructure without
the need to render and keep the fuel anhydrous which comprises
formulating the fuel with at least 10% gasoline, at least 10%
bioethanol and at least 45% methanol, with the amount of gasoline,
bioethanol and methanol totaling 100%, wherein the flex-fuel
mixture has an octane rating of at least 90 and remains homogeneous
in the presence of up to 10% water therein.
13. In a method for preparing a flex-fuel mixture of gasoline and
bioethanol, the improvement which comprises adding methanol in an
amount sufficient to enable the mixture to remain homogeneous in
the presence of up to 10% water to thus allow handling,
transportation, dispensing and use of the mixture in the same
manner as conventional gasoline fuels without first having to treat
the bioethanol to remove associated water or without having to be
rendered anhydrous.
14. The method of claim 13 wherein the flex-fuel mixture comprises
at least 10% gasoline, at least 10% bioethanol and at least 45%
methanol, with the amount of gasoline, bioethanol and methanol
totaling 100%.
15. The method of claim 13 wherein the flex-fuel mixture has an
octane rating of at least 90.
16. The method of claim 13 wherein the gasoline is present in an
amount of less than 33% of the mixture and the methanol is present
in an amount of at least 50% of the mixture.
17. The method of claim 13 wherein the bioethanol is present in an
amount of less than 33% of the mixture and the methanol is present
in an amount of at least 50% of the mixture.
18. The method of claim 13 wherein the methanol is present in an
amount of less than 75% of the mixture.
19. The method of claim 13 wherein the flex-fuel mixture comprises
10 to 30% gasoline, 50 to 80% methanol, and 10 to 25% of bioethanol
and has an octane rating of 90 to 98.
20. The method of claim 13 wherein the flex-fuel mixture comprises
15 to 30% gasoline, 50 to 75% methanol, and 10 to 25% of bioethanol
and has an octane rating of 90 to 98.
Description
[0001] This application claims the benefit of U.S. application
61/018,933 filed Jan. 4, 2008, the entire content of which is
expressly incorporated herein by reference thereto.
BACKGROUND
[0002] Petroleum based gasoline for cleaner and more efficient
burning generally necessitates either high octane alkylate or
oxygenate as well as other octane number enhancing additives. Many
of these additives such as tetraethyl lead and other organometallic
additives were, however, phased out because of their recognized
environmental and health hazards. So were some petrochemical based
oxygenates, such as MTBE, methyl-tert-butyl ether. Gasoline and any
hydrocarbon fuel upon its combustion transform its carbon content
into carbon dioxide (a recognized major greenhouse gas contributing
to man caused global warming). There is consequently an increased
interest in the use of biofuels, mainly bioethanol.
[0003] Because the use of carbon based transportation fuels is one
of the major-sources of man caused global warming, the use of
biofuels, specifically of bioethanol, is gaining significant use as
any plant life or crop is a natural way to recycle carbon dioxide.
Bioethanol produced by fermenting varied plant life and crops
(corn, sugar cane, etc.) derives its carbon content by recycling
atmospheric carbon dioxide via photosynthesis (using water and
sun's energy) and thus is a renewable carbon fuel. The production
of bioethanol, however, itself necessitates substantial energy (use
of nitrogenous fertilizers, irrigation, operating varied
machineries (tractors, trucks, etc.) to the energy need of the
fermentation plants of crops, various plants, even cellulosic
materials, etc.). Further, ethanol is miscible with gasoline only
when it is dry, thus preventing its transportation via pipelines,
even trucking of higher blends with gasoline, etc. It is therefore
necessary to dry (dehydrate) ethanol from any water and handle it
accordingly. The biofermentation process further also produces
large amounts of carbon dioxide.
[0004] The use of binary transportation fuel mixtures of gasoline
and methanol (such as M20 and M85) as well as gasoline and ethanol
(such as E85) is well known and used at different locations (US,
California, Brazil) at times. A ternary fuel mix called MEG (33%
CH.sub.3OH, 60% ethanol and 7% gasoline) was also used in Brazil
(San Paulo area) in the late eighties and early nineties. MEG was
introduced to overcome temporary shortages of ethanol at the time
in Brazil and served to provide of usable alcohol fuel.
[0005] Presently, bioethanol based binary gasoline flex-fuel such
as E85 and E20 (containing 85 or 20% ethanol, respectively) is
attracting much current interest as a means to decrease dependence
on depleting oil reserves and importation of oil from countries
still possessing substantial oil resources. In the US, bioethanol
is primarily produced from corn, whereas in Brazil and other
tropical areas sugar cane is the source. Bioethanol used in binary
fuel mixes with gasoline must be dry (anhydrous) to avoid phase
separation. This not only necessitates more expensive production
involving an additional dehydration step (distillation only gives a
96% ethanol, 4% water azeotrope mixture) but poses significant
difficulties in transportation (making pipelining and other usual
bulk transportation inconvenient). Even pre-mixing with gasoline in
refineries is not feasible. Thus, more efficient and economic
improvements are needed, and these are now provided by the present
invention.
[0006] US Patent Application 2006/0235091 discloses the use of
methanol as a way of chemically recycling carbon dioxide from
industrial or natural sources producing useful new fuels and
materials while decreasing man caused atmospheric excess carbon
dioxide and thus mitigating global warming. This application
teaches that methanol can be used as a fuel by itself or in
combination with gasoline. An additional advantage of the chemical
recycling of carbon dioxide is that it uses undesirable carbon
dioxide, which would otherwise be emitted into the atmosphere
contributing to global warming.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
[0007] The present invention discloses an efficient and economic
way to overcome the previous difficulties encountered with
bioethanol and to use the desirable compound methanol in a
flex-fuel mixture with gasoline. This mixture comprises at least
10% gasoline, at least 10% bioethanol and at least 45% methanol,
with the amount of gasoline, bioethanol and methanol totaling 100%.
The flex-fuel mixture has an octane rating of at least 90 and
remains homogeneous in the presence of up to 10% water therein.
[0008] In this flex-fuel mixture, both the gasoline and the
bioethanol are each present in an amount of less than 33% of the
mixture and the methanol is present in an amount of at least 50% of
the mixture. Preferably, the methanol is present in an amount of
less than 75% of the mixture. More preferably, the flex-fuel
mixture comprises 10-15 to 30% gasoline, 50 to 75-80% methanol, and
10 to 25% of bioethanol and having an octane rating of 90 to
98.
[0009] The invention also relates to a method of making these
flex-fuel mixtures by mixing the gasoline, bioethanol and methanol
together in the amounts recited and under mixing conditions
sufficient to form homogenous mixtures. The mixing may be conducted
by first mixing the gasoline with the methanol to form a binary
mixture and subsequently adding the bioethanol, or by first mixing
the methanol with bioethanol to form a binary mixture and
subsequently adding the gasoline. Advantageously, the bioethanol is
mixed with the gasoline and methanol without first having to be
treated to remove associated water or without having to be rendered
anhydrous. Also, the methanol can be made from carbon dioxide that
is generated by an industrial plant to avoid emitting carbon
dioxide into the atmosphere or from carbon dioxide that is removed
from the atmosphere to reduce the contribution of the carbon
dioxide to global warming.
[0010] The invention also relates to a method of storing, handling,
transporting or dispensing a bioethanol containing fuel using
existing infrastructure without the need to render and keep the
fuel anhydrous which comprises formulating the fuel with at least
10% gasoline, at least 10% bioethanol and at least 45% methanol,
with the amount of gasoline, bioethanol and methanol totaling 100%,
wherein the flex-fuel mixture has an octane rating of at least 90
and remains homogeneous in the presence of up to 10% water
therein.
[0011] Another embodiment of the invention relates to an
improvement in a method for preparing a flex-fuel mixture of
gasoline and bioethanol, wherein the improvement comprises adding
methanol in an amount sufficient to enable the mixture to remain
homogeneous in the presence of up to 10% water to thus allow
handling, transportation, dispensing and use of the mixture in the
same manner as conventional gasoline fuels without first having to
treat the bioethanol to remove associated water or without having
to be rendered anhydrous. Preferred flex-fuel mixtures of this
method are those disclosed herein.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS
[0012] In this document, the term "bioethanol" is used to mean
ethanol produced by fermenting various plant life, crops, or other
cellulosic materials or natural products and is a renewable and
environmentally friendly resource.
[0013] The present invention discloses a feasible and more
efficient new way to use bioethanol containing up to 10% water
without expensive and costly dehydration or any special treatment
to avoid moisture in transportation dispensing or use as a
flex-fuel. It is based on producing and using ternary
gasoline-methanol-bioethanol fuel mixture which are not phase
separated in the indicated range. A typical gasoline-methanol
binary fuel mix contains up to 85% methanol. This binary flex-fuel
is completely miscible with bioethanol when the latter is added in
amounts of 25% or less. Mixing with gasoline-methanol, there is no
need for the bioethanol to be dry and can contain water (moisture)
up to 10% making it practical for storage, transportation and use
without any special treatment or facilities.
[0014] The disclosed ternary transportation fuel mixtures are
easily accessible with the methanol produced by any known method,
including the chemical hydrogenative recycling of carbon dioxide of
industrial exhausts or natural sources as disclosed in US Patent
Application 2006/0235091. The mixtures have the ability of being
produced by recycling carbon dioxide through biological (i.e.,
photosynthetic and subsequent fermentative) ways as well as
reductive chemical recycling of carbon dioxide allowing the carbon
fuel mix to be used in an environmentally friendly way while also
mitigating global warming.
[0015] The needed bioethanol can be produced from any suitable
crops (sugar cane, corn, etc.), from cellulosic materials and other
natural products. Their degradation/fermentation produce
bioethanol. Nature's photosynthetic recycling of carbon dioxide to
plant life together with the chemical recycling of carbon dioxide
to methanol makes the disclosed gasoline-methanol-bioethanol
ternary flex-fuel mix substantially carbon neutral.
[0016] A further advantage is the cleaner burning properties and
high octane rating of the disclosed tertiary fuel mixes. Methanol
has an octane number of .about.100 and bioethanol of 105. Thus, an
octane rating of between 90 and 98 can be achieved by the
formulation of the preferred amounts of the three components of the
flex-fuel mixtures of the present invention. The high octane rating
of these mixtures and their advantageous combustion properties are
due to the beneficial effect of the oxygenates (i.e., the alcohols)
that the mixtures contain and can be selected by skilled artisans
as desired by the judicious selection of the amounts of the
alcohols that are included in the mixtures. The optimum amounts can
be determined by routine testing of the mixtures by starting with
the preferred amounts disclosed herein.
[0017] The new ternary flex-fuels of the invention can be
transported pre-mixed, stored and used without any specific
precaution to exclude moisture or water condensation. These
properties make the ternary fuel mix highly practical and
economical. It eliminates the significant drawbacks of the use of
bioethanol presently encountered in binary gasoline-ethanol
mixtures. It allows the practical use of the ternary flex-fuel
under usual conditions for storing, transporting, and dispensing
transportation fuels through existing infrastructure used for
gasoline. At the same time, the ternary fuel mix offers the
advantages of high octane rating, good ignition and burning
properties and complete miscibility without phase separation. The
disclosed economical, convenient and highly efficient ternary fuel
mix can be easy introduced and utilized with minimal additional
cost of production, transportation and dispensing facilities and is
adaptable with extremely limited minor changes of internal
combustion engine (ICE) vehicles. Thus, the flex-fuel mixtures of
the invention can be handled, transported, dispensed and used in
the same manner as conventional gasoline fuels.
[0018] The ternary flex-fuel mixtures described and claimed in
present applications are conveniently prepared by mixing first
methanol with gasoline in the indicated range of proportions and
then admixing the appropriate amount of bioethanol without any
dehydration of the azeotropic mixture, e.g., 96% ethanol-4% water
obtained by distillation of any fermentation produced bioethanol.
Alternatively, methanol and bioethanol can be premixed and thus
gasoline added. There is no need to store, transport, dispense and
use the ternary gasoline-methanol-bioethanol mixtures indicated
within the range composition according to the claims under special
conditions for excluding moisture to avoid water condensation. No
phase separation of the flex-fuel mixture occurs and it burns
efficiently in ICE vehicles with the aforementioned advantageous
properties.
* * * * *